House Republicans hold press conference to speak out against Democratic abortion legislation

Several House Republicans spoke out Wednesday in support of a pro-life rally that took place at the state capitol in Springfield to protest two new Democratic abortion bills.

Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Mt. Vernon) said at a press conference that under the new Reproductive Healthcare Act, infants don’t have independent rights.

"We support protecting the life of the mother, but we also support the life of the unborn baby as a newborn," Bryant said. "In essence, these bills would allow abortion any time for any reason, paid for with taxpayer dollars."

Bryant said the other piece of legislation they were fighting involved the Parental Notification Act.

"Illinois mandates notification to a parent, grandparent or legal guardian when a minor seeks an abortion," Bryant said. "With that bill, parents wouldn’t be notified with this. These bills create an environment that feels like you’ve fallen through the rabbit hole. I want to be sure parents and grandparents are notified when a medical procedure has been performed."

Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Litchfield) said the package of bills is extreme.

"This would make Illinois an outlier," Bourne said. "It is out of step with the majority of Illinoisans. It deregulates the industry."

Bourne said it is more than late-term abortion and parental notification.

"It’s a giveaway to the abortion industry and goes against many bipartisan policy goals," Bourne said. "We should support the health of mothers and babies. We should protect mothers carrying unborn babies."

Bourne added that the bills take abortions out of health care facilities.

"This makes no sense," Bourne said. "This takes away the rights of unborn babies. This is concerning to me on a number of levels."

Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) urged constituents to call their legislators and call the sponsors of the bills.

"Tell them why you disagree," Bailey said. "We need to get our state back to the moral high ground."

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